Google Wallet launches in the U.S.

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As expected yesterday, Google finally and officially launched Google Wallet in the U.S. The mobile payment system aims to replace your wallet by offering payment services through your smartphone using NFC.

The first partner to offer Google Wallet is Sprint, which means if you have a Nexus S 4G on Sprint you’ll be one of the first to get your hands on the app that makes the service possible. You should be able to see a Wallet app available for download today.

Google’s initial payment partners are Citi and MasterCard, but if you have some other credit cards you can still use Wallet. Google has a Prepaid Card setup in Wallet that can have money added to it through most credit cards. Add funds to the Prepaid Card and you can then use that for payment at any location that accepts Google Wallet, which is currently limited to MasterCard PayPass points.

American Express, Discover, and Visa, are all thought to positioning themselves to support Wallet too, meaning eventually you’ll only need to use the Google Prepaid Card in emergencies, or if the phone belongs to someone who doesn’t have a credit card e.g. one of your kids.

As you can see from the image above and video below, Google isn’t just limiting Wallet to being a credit card replacement. It wants to replace loyalty cards, boarding passes, provide a complete payment history in digital form, and of course push you offers from its advertising partners.

Is it a safe form of payment? Google thinks so, and eventually you won’t need to carry any cash around, your cards can’t get stolen because you can leave them at home, and if someone takes your phone they still need to figure out the PIN to pay for something. By the time they do (if they ever do) you’ll have likely realized your phone is gone and locked the account.

If you want to find out where Google Wallet works, then head on over to the official site and enter your zip code to see if there’s anywhere local with PayPass.